Forum Flash | A statesmanlike moment for John Kerry

John Kerry

Sen. John Kerry was in the hot seat this week, testifying before his colleagues for his confirmation hearings as President Obama's next secretary of State. As Mr. Kerry spoke, it was difficult not to flash back on the first time America saw him in that setting - when he, as a decorated Vietnam veteran, spoke to Congress about the war he came to oppose. His was an activism that some of his fellow Americans and veterans never forgave, and some of them worked overtime - and dishonorably - to besmirch his military record when he ran for president in 2004.

Given all that, there was a remarkable moment in Mr. Kerry's testimony on Thursday morning, when a protester interrupted the proceedings with her own objections to today's war in Afghanistan. Past and present merged when Mr. Kerry said to the panel:

"When I first came to Washington and testified, I obviously was testifying as part of the group of people who came here to have their voices heard. And that is above all what this place is about. So I respect the woman who was voicing her concerns about that part of the world, and maybe one of you have traveled there. Some of you were there recently. Senator McCain, you were just there, you were in a refugee camp, and I know you heard this kind of thing. People measure what we do. And in a way that's a good exclamation point to my testimony."

Sounds like the statesman we hope he will be.

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Forum Flash | A statesmanlike moment for John Kerry

Sen. John Kerry was in the hot seat this week, testifying before his colleagues for his confirmation hearings as President Obama?s next secretary of State. As Mr. Kerry spoke, it was difficult not to